## Background

In case you don’t know by now, or are new to this site/blog, let me give you some background before going through with this post. I am and have been an ArchLinux user for the past 7 years, or so, maintaining my very own Arch-Based Distro for past 4 almost 5 called XeroLinux. I haven’t really used anything else long-term since. Until now that is…

## The Challenge

With the introduction out of the way, let me explain the so-called Challenge. I’m setting out to use NixOS as my daily driver for an entire year. However, for the sake of transparency, I won’t be using it exclusively all the time.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m a distro maintainer, and there are some critical tasks that simply can’t be done on NixOS. For example, I can’t compile or build Arch packages on it, I can’t maintain my Wiki which uses MKDocs because some plugins are missing on Nix, and I can’t even build any of the ISOs either.

I know some of you might suggest “Just use DistroBox” in the comments. I wish it were that simple. DistroBox provides a minimal environment, but I need a full GUI to stay productive. So, no, that’s not a viable solution. Unfortunately, there isn’t one. That’s why during this challenge, I’ll be alternating between NixOS and Arch, using Arch only when I have specific work to do.

Oh, and did I mention that NixOS is installed on an external NVMe SSD? That makes it very portable!

## NixOS Early days

Having established my background and perspective, it’s important to state that it’s still too early for me to offer a complete judgment on the distribution or its underlying language. I will be regularly updating this post as I continue my journey, so feel free to bookmark it if you’re interested in further insights. As of writing this post, I have been using the system for 7 Days.

As you can see from the image above, I was able to import my Xero-Layan KDE Plasma rice from XeroLinux. It wasn’t that hard once you got the required knowledge. The only complex part was finding all packages I needed on NixOS. Which I have luckily enough. Though the package names were weird to say the least.

## The NixOS Config File

After almost a decade of following what I’ll call “The Linux Way,” I’ve become very comfortable with the traditional methods, mounting drives, installing packages, and updating my system, knowing that these processes are nearly identical across distributions like Debian or Arch.

NixOS, however, takes a different approach. While familiar tools like mount are still available, the recommended method is to handle these configurations through the hardware-configuration.nix file or by defining them in configuration.nix. The same goes for mounting the various drives, they belong in the config files.

I’ve just finalized my NixOS Configuration, successfully mounting all my drives, setting Wayland as the default, enabling ZSH/OhMyZSH, and much more. The process was fairly straightforward, made even easier thanks to the support of some good friends.

## NixOS Packages & Updates

Installing packages on NixOS is quite different from other distributions. Instead of using a package manager directly, you add the packages you want to the configuration.nix file and then run sudo nixos-rebuild switch. This command pulls the packages from the Nix store and applies the changes declaratively.

Updating the system also differs from traditional distros. You run sudo nixos-rebuild switch –upgrade, which compares versions and upgrades to the latest available packages accordingly.

This approach emphasizes a declarative and reproducible system configuration, rather than manual package installs.

## NixOS Generations

Long story short, every time the system state is rebuilt using nixos-rebuild switch, a new generation is created. You can revert to the previous generation at any time, which is useful if a configuration change (or system update) turns out to be detrimental.

This can quickly become overwhelming, particularly when dealing with the bootloader. Accumulating over 100 generations isn’t ideal, which is why I’ve added an alias to my .bashrc file. This alias automatically removes all old generations, keeping only the most recent one after I’ve confirmed its stability. Feel free to add it to your setup if you find it useful.

alias ncg="nix-collect-garbage --delete-old && sudo nix-collect-garbage -d && sudo /run/current-system/bin/switch-to-configuration boot"

## Flakes & Home-Manager

From the get-go I decided I will never use Home-Manager thing. I do not like the ideology behind it. I want to keep it simple.

However, I am willing to go to the next level with something called Flakes. Right now though, I am still at the beginning of my NixOS adventure/challenge.

## Conclusion

After a week of use, the system is fully functional for everyday activities like web browsing, watching movies, writing blog posts, and even gaming. I managed to set up Steam and everything needed to enjoy my favorite games. Interestingly, the performance feels slightly better than on Arch, which I find both surprising and impressive.

I plan to take things slow and steady, moving forward at my own comfortable pace. Once am fully happy with what I have accomplished, and feel comfortable enough, I will be tackling Flakes.

Wish me luck…